BOOK ONE || the city lights series
Adina Ricci is the daughter of two of the most famous people on the planet. She grew up in the spotlight and she never once felt ungrateful for what she had been given. But, right before her fourteenth birthday, he...
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A FEW SECONDS HAVE PASSED since Vaughn asked me how I knew Nick and I still haven't said anything. I've just been staring at my hands, thinking.
And it's not like I'm trying to stall for time, I really do want to tell him, but it's just that I honestly don't know where to start.
"Baby," Vaughn soothes, lifting my chin so now he's looking into my eyes. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I just–"
"No, no. I–I want to tell you." I lift my hand to place it on his cheek. I sigh before turning away from his touch, trying to focus on what I have to do.
"Nick..." I turn to look at him, my voice going quiet. "He's my ex."
Realization appears in Vaughn's eyes, a sharp intake of breath comes out of his swollen lips as he soothingly rubs his palm over my back.
I gulp, "in Freshman year, a few months after my Mom died, I wasn't in a good place. Months passed and I wasn't really talking to anyone. Not Dad or Adrian, not even Arden or Darius. Dad tried to send me to a therapist to... talk. But, surprise, surprise, I didn't end up going." I lightly laugh, shaking my head in annoyance at my past self.
"Instead, I would just blindly walk around the city. Wasting time until my appointment would be over and my Dad was supposed to come and pick me up. And that's kinda how I met Nick." I shrug, glancing over at a focused Vaughn, who's attentively listening to me.
"I was walking through Central Park when a football hit me in the back of the head." I roll my eyes, shaking my head with a small smile. "I ended up falling and that's when Nick came over to help me up, and back then I thought the way we met was... cute. I guess when you don't know what happened to us in the end, it does sound sweet.
"We got each other's numbers and began talking and meeting up once a week when I was supposed to be in therapy. He was there for me when I felt like no one else was, but I now know that was a lie. I had so many people, I just... I don't know. I think I needed some time for myself, and I felt like Nick knew that.
"By the time I turned fifteen, we had been dating for 7 months. He was everything. He was my first love, you know. And I think that was the problem. I relied too much on him and not enough on the people that were already in my life. Or maybe he wanted me to feel like he was the only person I could rely on. I've thought about that a lot since we broke up.
"Anyway," I shake my head, trying to remember my train of thought. "Things only started getting bad, or maybe I only realized the situation was bad, at the end of my Sophomore year. I've now realized that we were always somewhat... flawed." I lick my lips nervously before continuing. "He started getting... possessive, I guess. More than usual. I mean, even when we started going out he was like that, but it got even worse after our one year.
